Chapter 1

On Valentine's Day, my husband, Aiden Lambert's assistant, Eve Scanford, made a new post on her social media feed. "Ugh, all the hotel rooms are totally booked out while I'm on a business trip during the holiday! Now I'm forced to share a room with my handsome CEO!" The photo attached to the post was a selfie Eve had taken in the luxurious hotel room. The man behind her was depicted only as a blurry silhouette, wearing nothing but a bath towel. One could easily tell he had an amazing figure, his muscles on full display. Someone commented, "That man is so sexy!" Eve replied with a cheeky emoji, "Hehe! I'm definitely not losing out if I get to sleep with him!" I left a "like" on her comment. A few minutes later, Eve called me. She cried the whole time, claiming she was just doing it for work and that she wasn't hinting at anything else. Aiden grabbed the phone from Eve and began mocking me cruelly. "What, did you lose your temper because we're sharing a hotel room? You should really do something to enrich your life. Stop spying on the people around me." Then, he turned to comfort Eve. "Ignore her. She's going through menopause right now." As I listened to Eve's amused giggles, I ended the call quietly. I spent four years secretly crushing on Aiden, another four years dating him, and the last two years being married to him. Now, on the tenth year of loving him, I decided it was time to stop simping over my own husband. When Aiden got home, I was in the middle of savoring a chocolate cake. Ever since he mocked me for being fat enough to outlast two Eves in public, I had stayed away from desserts for half a year. Aiden walked over and snatched my cake away rudely. Then, he tossed it into the trash can. "You're still gorging on cake even though you're already this fat!" He placed a box of Alforian coffee in front of me after that. "This is a gift from Eve. She was so terrified she almost deactivated her social media account. She even insisted on apologizing to you in person." As I gazed at the slogan, "Rich and bitter, this coffee is your savior," printed on the box, I remarked languidly, "This is some great coffee." Aiden glanced at me before passing his phone to me. "Call her right now and thank her. Make sure to apologize to her as well. I'll consider this water under the bridge once you've done all that. "Look at you; you're not as well-mannered as a young woman in her early 20s, even though you're a hag." But I remained seated without budging. Aiden shoved me right away. "Eve has already offered you a token of apology! What are you putting on airs for?" Since he was furious at me, he used a lot of strength in shoving me. Coincidentally, he had shoved me in my shoulder's injury. It was an old injury left behind by the accident where I had rescued Aiden. I clutched my shoulder while trembling from the pain. It hurt so much that my lips lost their color. Aiden was starting to panic. "I'll go grab some painkillers!" I glanced at him with mixed feelings. At first, I wanted to stop him, but I managed to curb that thought. My pregnancy report had been stashed in my bag for the past two days. The doctor had specifically reminded me to be very careful whenever I took medicine during my pregnancy. At first, I planned on surprising Aiden with the news once he got back from his business trip. Now, it seemed that I no longer had to do that. Aiden quickly fetched the medical kit. He rummaged through it for a few moments before halting in his actions. "Why can't I find—" That was when he stopped speaking. I didn't miss the flash of realization mixed with guilt crossing his face. Suddenly, I remembered one of Eve's comments, which had responded to a particular comment in the comment section. "My CEO is super caring! He knows that I'm on period, so he brought me ibuprofen!" If this had happened in the past, I'd have pelted Aiden with endless questions just to find out if he had given my last pack of ibuprofen to Eve. But this time, I didn't expose him. I merely said, "I'll go buy some painkillers." Aiden stopped me immediately. "Stop moving around! I'll—" His phone began ringing before he could finish his sentence. After glancing at the caller ID, he quickly answered it. "What's wrong, Eve?" Eve's choked-up voice drifted from the other end of the line. "Aiden, save me! I attended the Beerstival so that I could have a good time, but a few guys ganged up on me and tried to molest me! I managed to shake them off, but…" "Damn it! Those bastards!" Aiden shot up to his feet instantly. "Send me your coordinates! I'm heading over right now!" Eve just kept crying. "I'm so sorry for troubling you at this hour. I bet Mrs. Lambert is going to get angry at me again…" "As if she'll do that to you!" Aiden shot me a warning glare upon hearing Eve's cries. After ending the call, he rushed to the front door and began changing into his loafers. "Aiden," I called out to him. He turned back to glare at me, his tone dripping with impatience. "Noelle, can you be sensible for once? You heard what happened just now, right? Eve's in danger right now—" "You didn't grab your keys," I cut him off. "What?" Aiden looked stunned for a moment. "You forgot to grab your car keys." I pointed at the coffee table. After Aiden obtained the car keys, he looked like he wanted to say something. In the end, he just spat out, "I'm going to check on Eve. I'll get you your meds on the way home." Then, he left the house hurriedly.